Contact with wave shaped tail sections



Dem 1965 H. E. RUEHLEMANN 3,223,960

CONTACT WITH WAVE SHAPED TAIL SECTIONS Filed Dec. 7, 1962 IN VEN TOR.hf/PBERT E. RUE/ L EMA/WV BY WWW ATTOR/VFKS'.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,223,960 CUNTACT WITH WAVE SHAPED TAILSECTIQNS Herbert E. Ruehlemann, Huntingdon Valley, Pat, assignor to ElcoQorporation, Willow Grove, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec.7, 1962, Ser. No. 243,016 7 Claims. (Cl. 339-221) This invention relatesto a contact with wave shaped tail sections and has as its objective theprovision of a contact with a tail of rectangular or square crosssection which can be secured within a circular opening in a laminate orconnector casing.

Where the tail of a contact is of a circular cross section it may besimply secured in a circular opening by frictional engagement or similarmeans of attachment as the contour of the tail is complementary to theconfiguration of the opening in the laminate or connector casing.

However, contacts with a rectangular or square cross section tail arewidely used since the lead wires from outside circuits can be wrappedaround the tail and secured thereto by means of automatic wrappingmachinery.

It has been suggested that contacts with tails of a rectangular squarecross section may be secured in laminates or connector casings byproviding a complementary rectangular or square opening therein as wasdone with the contacts with a circular cross section.

However, rectangular holes cannot be drilled, they must be punched. Suchan operation is expensive and furthermore punching is practical onlywith relatively thin laminates or casings.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to providea contact with a tail of a rectangular or square cross section which maybe secured within a circular opening in a laminate or connector casing.Such securement in accordance with the present invention is reliable andstable even when the contact is thereafter mated and unmated with othercontacts.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the present invention areachieved by providing a contact with a tail of a rectangular or squarecross section which includes wave shaped tail sections, adjacent theroot of the tail.

In one embodiment of the invention the tail section may be of thehalf-wave type to include two sections, the bottom section opposite tothe top section and spaced therefrom. In another embodiment of theinvention, the tail section is of the full-wave type and includes foursections which are spaced side-by-side and also opposite to each otherin pairs. The wave sections themselves may be rectangular in crosssection or they may be arcuate.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a contact constituting a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a contact constituting a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the contact of FIG. 1 secured withina laminate;

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 but shows the contact of FIG. 2 securedwithin the laminate;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 4;and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 but show- 3,223,960Patented Dec. 14, 1965 ing a contact of a slightly different crosssection in the wave sections.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a contactwith wave shaped tail sections constituting a first embodiment of thepresent in vention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Contact 10basically comprises a bifurcated mating section 12, body section 14 andtail 16 which possesses a rectangular cross section with long sides 18and a short end 20. The wave sections 22 and 24 extending from the rootof the tail 16 constitute a significant feature of the presentinvention.

The bifurcated mating section 12 is constructed in accordance withcontacts sold under the trademark Varicon and is disclosed and claimedin United States Patent No. 2,828,474. The entire contact 10 includingmating section 12 is generally flat and is constructed of springhardPhosphor bronze, copper or other suitable electrically conductivematerial having the necessary balance of resiliency and strengthrequired herein. The tail 16 may have a minimum dimension of, forinstance, 0.026 inch with a width of 0.050 inch or more.

The mating section 12 is bifurcated by virtue of a slot 26 along thelongitudinal center of the contact to provide a pair of contact legs 28and 30 which are spaced from each other by virtue of the slot 26. Theouter edges of the contact legs 28 and 30 are generally parallel to eachother until the points 32 are attained and then the outer edges of thelegs 28 and 30 taper somewhat toward each other to the flattened tips34. The contact legs 28 and 30 then taper sharply toward each other andmeet the contact legs at the slot 26. The edges of the contact definingthe slot 26 are chamfered to present substantially flat contactsurfaces.

In mating position a contact with a mating section similarly constructedwill mate perpendicularly with respect to the contact of FIG. 1 asdescribed in United States Patent No. 2,828,474 and United States PatentNo. 2,994,056 so that the chamfered edges of the mating sections are inengagement with each other to provide a large area of electricalcontact. The distance between the inner edges of the contact legs alongthe slot 26 is slightly less than the thickness of the contact so thatwhen a complementary contact is engaged in slot 26, the contact legs 28and 30 are slightly forced apart to engage the mating contact undertension. Such tension is considerably enhanced by provision of enlargedopening 36 at the rearward end of the slot 18. Thus, the opening 36provides a hinge action which affords making the slot 26 slightlynarrower than would otherwise be possible. As the two cooperatingcontacts are brought into mating relation, the respective legs 28 annd30 are spread apart slightly by virtue of the aforementioned hingeaction to permit a smooth sliding action between the respective pairs ofcontact legs while still providing adequate tension to insure goodelectrical contact and relative ease of withdrawal.

It is to be understood that other types of bifurcated mating sectionsmay be employed and the mating sections may be male, female or othertype known in the art so long as satisfactory mating can occur.

The root of the tail 16 is located immediately behind the body section14 as shown in FIG. 1. As further shown in FIG. 1 the wave sections 22and 24 are stamped from the tail root and extend outwardly therefrom. Asbest illustrated in FIG. 5, the root of the tail 16 may be located in acircular opening 38 in a laminate 40. The tail root may be forced intoplace and thus the contact is held in place by frictional engagementwithout need of any other fastening aids. As noted in FIG. 5, the wavesections 22 and 24 are in bearing relation against the side of thecircular opening 38 and in addition the straight sides 42 and 44 of thetail root may also make contact against the circular opening sides. Thisis further illustrated in FIG. 3. As noted in FIG. 5, the outer edges ofthe wave sections 22 and 24 are relatively straight and are of the samegeneral configuration as the tail root. In addition, the wave sectionsextend at an acute angle with respect to the tail 16.

It is thus seen that a tail with a rectangular cross section may besimply but effectively anchored or secured within an opening of acircular cross section without need of any additional means other thanthe wave sections which are an integral part of the tail. The resiliencyof the wave sections permits them to be forced into engaging positionand then to be seated in tight engagement with the walls of the opening38.

It is, however, within the scope of this invention to attach orotherwise secure separate wave pieces to the root of a tail in order toeffect the structure of FIG. 5. The wave sections 22 and 24 togetherconstitute a half-wave and for this reason such terminology is appliedto this type of wave section.

The wave sections of FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 illustrate the full-wave type oftail section.

The contact of FIG. 2 is generally similar to that of FIG. 1 andtherefore wherever possible like reference characters will be employed.

In the contact of FIG. 2, four wave sections 46, 48, 50 and 52 areprovided in order to efiect securement as best illustrated in FIG. 6 ofthe drawing. Wave sections 48 and 50 are somewhat shorter than wavesections 46 and 52 in order to facilitate the insertion and staking ofthe contact within the opening 38.

In this embodiment of the invention the four wave sections togetherconstitute a full-wave. As noted in FIG. 6, the wave sections aresomewhat arcuate with the sections 48 and 50 being diagonally oppositeto each other and the sections 46 and 52 likewise being diagonallyopposite to each other. As noted in FIG. 6, the wave sections 46, 48, 50and 52 make a four point contact or four point support within theopening 38. As further noted in FIG. 6, the wave sections can besomewhat arcuate, dependent upon the particular needs of securement, thedimensions of the tail section and the particular material of which thetail section is made.

The wage sections of FIG. 6 are to be contrasted with those of FIG. 7wherein the wave sections 146, 148, 150 and 152 are similar to the wavesections 46, 48, 50 and 52. In this case, however, the wave sectionshave straight sides as compared with the arcuate edges of FIG. 6.

It is also seen that wave sections may be similarly formed anywherealong the tail, but preferably adjacent the root of a tail having asquare or any other cross section other than circular. The wave sectionsare simply stamped during the various mechanical processes which producethe entire contact. Of course, it is possible to form wave sections in atail of circular cross section, if necessary for a particular purpose.

It is thus seen that a contact is provided which possesses a tail of asquare or rectangular cross section but which may be secured within acircular opening by means of the provision of wave shaped tail sectionsadjacent the root thereof. The wave shaped tail sections may be forcedinto the opening and will remain there by virtue of frictionalengagement with the opening. Once so located, the contact will not bemoved from its seated position either by forces of vibration or bywithdrawal or mating forces of a mating contact in view of the fineanchoring properties contributed by the wave shaped tail sections of thepresent contact.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A substantially fiat contact of rectangular cross-section, saidcontact comprising a body section, a mating section and a tail sectionprojecting from said body section, said body and tail sections lyingsubstantially in the same plane, said tail section including asubstantially uniplanar root having first and second edges eachextending to said body section, at least one integral locking wingextending away from at least one of said edges and lying in at least oneplane inclined at an acute angle substantially less than ninety degreeswith respect to the plane of said body and tail sections.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking wings are respectivelytop and bottom sections, opposite to and inclined away from each other.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking wings are present infour sections, spaced in at least two rows, side by side and inclinedoppositely to each other.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein two locking wings adjacent said bodysection are shorter than rearwardly located locking wings.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking wings are arcuate incross-section.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said locking Wings are rectangularin cross-section.

7. In combination a panel and at least one substantially uniplanarcontact, said panel including at least one circular opening throughwhich said uniplanar contact is secured, said contact including a bodysection, a mating section and a tail section of rectangularcross-section projecting from said body section and passing through saidopening, said tail section including a substantially uniplanar roothaving first and second edges each extending to said body section, atleast one integral locking wing extending away from at least one of saidedges and lying in at least one plane inclined at an acute anglesubstantially less than ninety degrees with respect to the plane of saidbody and tail sections.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,410,043 3/1922Webster. 1,488,948 4/ 1924 Smith. 2,353,579 7/1944 Miller -11 2,497,4842/1950 Wood 339-221 2,828,474 3/1958 Fox 339-47 X 2,924,807 2/1960 Field339-217 X 2,978,667 4/1961 Watts 339- 2,994,056 7/1961 Fox 339-173,056,939 10/1962 Rayburn 339-221 FOREIGN PATENTS 113,819 3/1918 GreatBritain.

414,513 8/1934 Great Britain. D 802,873 10/1958 Great Britain.

ALBERT H. KAMPE, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH D. SEERS, Examiner.

1. A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT CONTACT OF RECTANGULAR CROSS-SECTION, SAIDCONTACT COMPRISING A BODY SECTION, A MATING SECTION AND A TAIL SECTIONPROJECTING FROM SAID BODY SECTION, SAID BODY AND TAIL SECTIONS LYINGSUBSTANTIALLY IN THE SAME PLANE, SAD TAIL SECTION INCLUDING ASUBSTANTIALLY UNIPLANAR ROOT HAVING FIRST AND SECOND EDGES EACHEXTENDING TO SAID BODY SECTION, AT LEAST ONE INTEGRAL LOCKING WINGEXTENDING AWAY FROM AT LEAST ONE OF SAID EDGES AND LYING IN AT LEAST ONEPLANE INCLINED AT AN ACUTE ANGLES SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN NINETY DEGREESWITH RESPECT TO THE PLANE OF SAID BODY AND TAIL SECTIONS.